Object of the Day: Museum Edition: A Venetian Glass Flask, 1500-1550

The Victoria & Albert Museum

Let's begin our Wednesday with this glass sprinkler bottle with a long and very narrow neck which has been enameled with two coats of arms.

Considered one of the world’s finest luxuries, Venetian enameled and gilt glass was exported all over Europe and found its way into the collections of Royalty and aristocrats.

The shape of this sprinkler—used for scented water--is derived from silver antiquities found in the Middle East. Some of these Middle Eastern metal sprinklers were made especially for the Italian market.

Unfortunately, the coat of arms which has been enameled on this example from 1500 t0 1550 has not been traced to a specific family. It does tell us, however, that this beautiful piece of glass was made as a specific commission for an important Italian family, possibly as a wedding gift as it incorporates the arms of two families. 

The Home Beautiful: A Venetian Glass Perfume Sprinkler, 1599-1700

Perfume Sprinkler
Murano, Italy, 1599-1700
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The glassmakers of Murano, an island near Venice, as we know, were renowned for their exceptional skill and creativity. This glass perfume sprinkler demonstrates that brilliance quite beautifully. 

The bottle was partly blown in a mould in the shape of a stringed instrument.  Blue glass was added to this to give the musical instrument bird-like qualities while the long spout takes the form of a snake.

Perfume would trickle down the spout.  To control the flow, the user would just need to place his or her thumb over the blue-rimmed hole in the side.

This beauty was made sometime in the Seventeenth Century. 

Object of the Day: Museum Edition: A Venetian Glass Flask, 1500-1550

The Victoria & Albert Museum

Today has already shaped up to be an extremely busy day filled with ringing phones, one barking Bertie and a wild puppet running rampant. So, let’s distract ourselves with a host of attractive artifacts from Italy. We’ll begin with this glass sprinkler bottle with a long and very narrow neck which has been enameled with two coats of arms.

Considered one of the world’s finest luxuries, Venetian enameled and gilt glass was exported all over Europe and found its way into the collections of Royalty and aristocrats.

The shape of this sprinkler—used for scented water--is derived from silver antiquities found in the Middle East. Some of these Middle Eastern metal sprinklers were made especially for the Italian market.

Unfortunately, the coat of arms which has been enameled on this example from 1500 t0 1550 has not been traced to a specific family. It does tell us, however, that this beautiful piece of glass was made as a specific commission for an important Italian family, possibly as a wedding gift as it incorporates the arms of two families.

Object of the Day: A Pair of Victorian Murano Glass Vases

Long known for their masterful art glass creations, the glass blowers of Murano, Italy, are heralded for their handling of colored glass. In England, during the reign of Queen Victoria, Murano glass became the height of fashion and was collected for its brilliant color and exquisite workmanship.


Contrary to popular belief, Victorian households embraced bright colors and sought to incorporate brilliant hues into home décor. This pair of small Murano glass vases is testament to that. Swirls of cadmium yellow and white engulf these classically shaped budvases. Their bold hue is further heightened by raised crimson beads and hand-painted pink flowers surrounded by gilt leaves and tendrils. There’s nothing sedate whatsoever about these vases. In fact, they’re a brave shock of color in even the darkest of rooms.